Ottawa to limit number of foreign youth working in Canada

Further to my earlier post (Foreign youth TFW program a risk to youth employment, documents say), appears the Government has decided to cut the program in 2016 both for the valid reason given concern over bilateral irritants and how to manage them, along with further efforts to increase Canadian uptake for foreign opportunities, and likely also to punt and controversies post-2015 election:

Ottawa has reciprocal agreements with 32 countries, but is concerned that Canada accepts far more young workers each year than the number of young Canadians accepted by partner countries.

A Dec. 12 document reveals that Mr. Harper decided partner nations should be warned that quotas will be “reduced significantly” for 2016 unless they take steps to accept more Canadians.

An earlier document dated Oct. 27 shows the government was preparing to manage the fallout from foreign countries that would likely object to quota reductions in the program.

The Oct. 27 document specifically states that any reforms were to be delayed until after Canada and South Korea ratified a long-sought free-trade agreement, a development that occurred in early December.

“Of note is that 24 of the 32 countries’ programs (predominantly in the EU) are slated to be cut between 50 and 99 per cent,” states the Oct. 27 document, which describes a letter from Mr. Alexander to Mr. Harper outlining the minister’s “optimal approach” for reforming the program.

“The letter notes that the cuts will present bilateral irritants in many cases, however consideration has been given to deferring any changes to the quota for South Korea until the [free trade agreement] has been ratified,” it states.

The letter goes on to say that the Prime Minister would respond to the minister in the next few weeks. The Dec. 12 document describes Mr. Harper’s decision.

“The PM indicated that 2015 quotas will be maintained at the 2014 levels but reductions will be implemented in 2016, based on a detailed assessment to be conducted by [Citizenship and Immigration] in consultation with [Foreign Affairs],” the document states.

Ottawa to limit number of foreign youth working in Canada – The Globe and Mail.

Foreign youth TFW program a risk to youth employment, documents say – The Globe and Mail

More on the TFWP and the youth working holiday program:

David Wright, who was senior policy adviser at the department’s headquarters, noted in an e-mail in August, 2013, what he described as “interesting” results from an Australian survey of a similar program.

“It is young local workers who are the main losers in the competition for employment. This is especially the case for those without post-school education, who are seeking less skilled, entry-level jobs,” the e-mail stated, quoting a report from Australia’s Centre for Population and Urban Research.

The government documents were obtained by immigration lawyer Richard Kurland. The Citizenship and Immigration department did not respond to questions about the documents by late Tuesday.

Mr. Kenney has insisted “these nice young people on their working holiday programs” are not a threat to Canada’s labour market.“I think it’s a pretty benign subset of the temporary foreign worker program,” he said during a 2013 debate in the House of Commons.

… International Experience Canada, the much larger category, was left largely untouched. Canadian employers can hire participants without going through a screening process called Labour Market Opinions that is meant to ensure efforts are made to hire Canadians.

The government has noted that working holiday programs are reciprocal deals that allow Canadians to work in 32 other countries, but it has acknowledged few Canadian youth have taken advantage of it, noting at the time of last year’s reforms that the imbalance “is the most serious concern for this initiative.”

The number of people working in Canada as of Dec. 1 of each year under the program has grown from 25,891 in 2006 to a high of 58,933 in 2012. The numbers dropped in 2013 to 56,313. In contrast, only 17,731 Canadians worked abroad under the program in 2012. Most programs have age limits of 30 or 35.

Youth exchange programs have many benefits for participants and surprised that more Canadian youth aren’t taking advantage of the opportunities.

Foreign youth TFW program a risk to youth employment, documents say – The Globe and Mail.